1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for dispensing a predetermined amount of product. More particularly, the present invention includes new and improved coin-operated vending machine for dispensing various types of products
2. The Background of the Invention
Vending machines have long been recognized as an efficient means for selling a wide variety of items without the necessity of employing someone to personally wait on the customer. Some of the first vending machines made were used to dispense gum, hard candy, and other small, consistently sized items. Such machines did not require electricity and were mechanically dependable to varying degrees. Many of these "old-fashioned" vending machines have significant value today as collector's items and are quickly identified by their heavy metal base and glass "globe."
Most of the vending machines used today are large, requiring a substantial amount of space for their use. Additionally, they are usually electrically powered thereby adding cost to their use and decreasing the profit margin for the owner of the machine. Because of the complexity of their design, such machines are prohibitively expensive for most people. Thus, the use of such "modern" machines is not practical for many applications.
For many applications, such as for vending small quantities of candy or gum, a variation on the old-fashioned vending machine is still preferred. Such mechanical vending machines, frequently made out of plastic, are ideal for dispensing a small amount of candy, gum, or other items without the need for a large space or the use of electricity.
These machines are mechanically operated by depositing a coin in a coin slot and twisting a knob attached to the coin mechanism. The coin mechanism is usually connected to a dispensing cup which takes a predetermined amount of product from the "globe," or product reservoir, and deposits the product down a "chute." The consumer may then remove the product from the machine by opening the chute cover and allowing the product to fall out of the chute.
Although such vending machines have many advantages over the large electric vending machines used to vend most packaged products, they do suffer from several disadvantages. For example, a common problem from which many small vending machines suffer is that, under certain circumstances, the product being sold in the machine tends to "bridge;" that is, the product becomes stuck and will not flow from the product reservoir into the dispensing cup as it should. Whether a product will bridge is a function of the size of the product and how the products reacts when subjected to various temperatures. Many products become tacky when the ambient temperature is increased above normal room temperature.
When bridging of the product occurs, the consumer will twist the coin mechanism only to discover that no product is dispensed. Obviously, the results in consumer complaints and forces the owner of the machine to spend time maintaining the machine.
Another problem often associated with such mechanical vending machines is that the machines lack versatility. Given the wide variety of products on the market which may be successfully used in a small mechanical vending machine, it is necessary that the vending machine have the capacity to adjust the amount of product that is dispensed to correspond to various sizes of products. It may also be desirable to adjust the amount of a product that is dispensed as the price of that product changes.
One method used by the prior art to adjust the amount of product that is dispensed is to employ an adjustable sidewall in the dispensing cup. By moving the sidewall, the effective volume of the cup may be increased or decreased as desired. A significant disadvantage to the use of an adjustable sidewall, however, is that as the sidewall is adjusted to provide for a smaller volume in the cup, the area of the opening of the cup is decreased a proportionate amount. Having a smaller opening in the dispensing cup increases the likelihood that the product will bridge.
Another problem frequently found in mechanical vending machines is that product from the product reservoir can be forced into the dispensing chute by shaking the machine. For example, this could occur when the coin mechanism is turned approximately half way thereby placing the dispensing cup in open connection with the product reservoir and the dispensing chute at the same time. With the dispensing cup in that position, product will flow through the opening created by the dispensing cup when the machine is shaken vigorously.
A similar problem may occur when the dispensing cup is rotated into a position where it is in open connection with the product reservoir and with the inside of the machine where the coin drawer is housed. The product which falls into the coin drawer may become contaminated or dirty thereby preventing the owner of the machine from placing the product back into the product reservoir. Also, having product bleed into the back of the machine may significantly reduce the effective amount of product available for vending. Additionally, increased time is required of the owner of the machine because the back of the machine must be cleaned out each time the machine is serviced.
One of the most significant problems associated with the use of small mechanical vending machines is their susceptibility to burglary. To keep manufacturing costs of these machines to a minimum, many of the machines are made of plastic. It has been found, however, that machines will generally not be broken into if destruction of the machine would result. Thus, although machines made of plastic may be easily destroyed and the money removed, this seldom occurs.
Most of the plastics used in the construction of these machines, however, are readily deformable without being destroyed. Thus, a thief may use a screwdriver to create an opening in a seam of the machine and extract money or product without destroying the machine Most machines have several locations where one could insert a screwdriver or other similar implement to create enough of an opening to extract product or money. For example, the glass globe used on older machines has largely been replaced with clear plastic windows. The perimeter of these plastic windows is frequently a point of entry for someone desiring to steal product or money.
The majority of mechanical vending machines have at least two access doors--one to provide access to the product reservoir and one to provide access to the coin drawer. Although a variety of locks have been employed on these doors by the prior art, a common design failure is that the edges of the doors may be readily penetrable as described above.
It is often desirable to offer a variety of products in a vending machine, thereby increasing the probability that one of the products in the machine will appeal to all potential customers. Thus, many machines offer two or three selections of product. A disadvantage of such machines, however, is that the owner of the machine is unable to accurately ascertain how much revenue each type of product is generating. As the coins are ejected into the coin drawer by the coin mechanism, they are all mixed together, thereby preventing the owner of the machine to determine which products are the most profitable
Mechanical vending machines are widely used because they employ few moving parts and are simple in design. The simplicity of their design ensures that little maintenance is required to keep the machine in working order. Thus, to the extent extra parts may be eliminated from the machine, the necessity of potentially having to repair that part is eliminated. However, because of the design demands placed on the machines, the existence of some moving parts is inevitable.
One part which is generally thought could not be eliminated is the spring employed on the chute flap. When the coin mechanism is rotated, product is released from the dispensing cup and travels down the chute. It accumulates in the chute directly behind the chute flap until the consumer opens the flap. The product then falls out of the chute and into the consumer's hand. If the chute flap does not stay closed when contacted by the product, the product will fall onto the floor if the consumer is not prepared to catch it.
To ensure that the chute flap stays closed against the back pressure applied by the product, a spring is employed which biases the chute flap closed When the spring fails, however, it is often difficult to obtain a replacement spring. Thus, many machines in which springs have failed continue to be used without the spring.
Although most mechanical vending machines are designed to quickly and easily dispense product through the dispensing chute as the coin mechanism is turned, removing the product directly from the product reservoir when servicing the machine can be extremely burdensome. The owner of the machine must usually either use a small cup or scoop to remove the product directly from the reservoir or physically turn over the machine to pour out the product.
Removing the product from the reservoir with a scoop is disadvantageous because it is time consuming. Also, there will always remain in the bottom of the reservoir a small quantity of product which cannot be removed by a scoop. Thus, the owner must remove these pieces of product one at a time or turn over the machine to remove these last pieces.
It is impractical to turn over many machines because they are frequently mounted on pedestals. Even if the pedestal/vending machine combination may be turned over, the pedestal-mounted machine is awkward to handle. This gives rise to a risk that the owner could drop the machine while trying to empty the product from the reservoir thereby damaging or permanently destroying the machine.
It will be appreciated, therefore, that what is needed in the art are methods and apparatus for vending a product which are small, mechanically dependable, and do not require electricity to operate. It would also be an enhancement in the art if such methods and apparatus prevented the product being vended from bridging. It would be a further enhancement in the art if such methods and apparatus included means for adjusting the amount of product dispensed with each sale without decreasing the area of the opening of the dispensing cup.
It would be yet a further enhancement in the art if such methods and apparatus did not allow the product being vended to freely flow from the product reservoir to either the dispensing chute or to the coin drawer. Indeed, it would be an advancement in the art if such methods and apparatus were designed to be resistant to burglary of the product being vended and of any money accumulated. It would also be an advancement in the art if such methods and apparatus could be used to accurately ascertain the amount of revenue generated by different products sold in the same machine.
It would be an additional advancement in the art if such methods and apparatus could be employed such that no springs are required for use on the chute flap while keeping the chute flap sufficiently biased against the chute that it will not open when subject to back pressure from product dispensed through the machine. It would be yet a further advancement in the art if such methods and apparatus could be provided such that any unsold product could be quickly and easily removed from the reservoir without having to turn the machine over or manually remove the product with a scoop or similar device.
Such methods and apparatus are disclosed and claimed herein.